Strays

by Justin Kassab

  Yuzuki let out an exacerbated sigh. “I guess we can just float, then. I would like to say let’s wait till dark, but they’re looking for us. Sooner the better.”

  “Let me see if I can’t get some food in them first,” Kade said.

  Yuzuki kept her eyes looking out at the water and gave Kade a nod.

  Kade spent the next hour coaxing Jem and Mick to eat croutons and drink water in small amounts. They seemed to improve somewhat but were still inebriated. Whatever food Kade could find that wouldn’t spoil he packed into an industrial trash bag, along with a six-pack and a handle of vodka.

  He had just rejoined Yuzuki at the window and let her know he was ready to go when they heard the whoop whoop of rotor blades. A second later, a helicopter flew up the channel.

  Yuzuki looked at Kade, her eyes wide with panic. “Promise me you’ll kill me before you let them take me back.”

  “They’re not going to get us,” Kade said, trying to convince himself.

  “Promise me.”

  “Promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Which boat are we taking?” Kade asked.

  Yuzuki pointed along a pier that was a little ways down from the restaurant. “Those small sailing yachts will be our best bet. We can just let it float until we are clear.”

  “Won’t we be sitting ducks with that helicopter patrolling?” Kade asked.

  “It isn’t looking for us specifically. That’s their once-a-day routine patrol.”

  Kade didn’t feel any more at ease hearing this, but Yuzuki hadn’t led him astray yet. He slid open the glass door and crept out onto the deck. Lowering himself to all fours, he crawled to the edge of the wooden steps that led down to the docks. He paused at the top, listening for any unnatural sounds, but the only thing he could hear was the lapping of the water.

  The deck was worn and splintered, so he moved with caution to avoid imbedding pieces of it into his hand. When he hit the last step, he repositioned himself into a crouch and scrambled to the first boat. He ducked behind it, using it as cover. He didn’t like how exposed he felt, especially with a helicopter flying around.

  He sprinted to the next boat and stopped in cover again. Scanning the area, he still saw nothing and decided to make a break for the sailing yacht at the end of the dock. With steps as light as he could make them, he sped down the worn wooden planks.

  Kade tossed the bag into the open boat and went around the edge, untying the lines. Having spent the winter in the water without anyone to care for it, the white paint had chipped and cracked while a dirty watermark had marred the outside of the craft. With only one rope to go, the boat had pulled partly away from the dock.

  Kade waved in the direction of the restaurant. Yuzuki left the door open and herded Jem and Mick toward the boat. Yuzuki had Kade’s rifle with her. Although Mick and Jem were both carrying their own rifles in a way that made them look like they might be able to use them, their hollow eyes showed that they weren’t their old selves just yet.

  Mick stumbled on the steps and fell to his hands on the deck. Kade couldn’t imagine how much a fall on such a damaged body had to hurt. The rope slipped from Kade’s hands as he took a step toward his friend but turned back as the boat started to drift away. He recovered the rope and watched Yuzuki grab Mick by the collar like a mother cat and shove him off the dock and into the boat. Jem followed the example and leaped in. Yuzuki climbed in next, keeping her rifle at the ready.

  Kade dropped the final rope and grabbed the gunwale. He pushed the boat along the dock until it was clear to float on its own, and he jumped in before it drifted away.

  As he landed in the boat, he felt a stab of pain in his back. He reached under himself and pulled out a toy scuba diver. He turned the plastic man over in his hands, remembering what Zack had said to him. Tiny was pregnant.

  Kade dropped the toy into the water. The yellow plastic diver sank out of sight beneath the murk. He’d never wanted kids. Huntington’s was linked to sex genes, which meant his mom had a 50 percent chance of passing it to her kids. For him, it was much more black and white. If he had a boy, he would be healthy; if he had a girl, she would have it. Any daughter of his would be condemned to death. The day she was born, he would know she wouldn’t live past her thirties. He would be long dead before she reached that age, and if he let his own Huntington’s run its course, she would have a clear idea of the hell that awaited her. Same as Kade had from watching the disease claim everything he loved about his mother, before it finally took her life.

  He was going to die soon. Kade hadn’t thought much about that since the Primal Age had begun, but his clock was running low. His mother had died in her midthirties, which meant his symptoms could start any day now.

  For the past few months he had forgotten about the impending death waiting for him. After all the struggles they’d had to survive, for the first time since his diagnosis he’d been able to push the idea out of his mind and focus on living.

  A kid would change everything, though. In a best-case scenario, he would live to see its fifth or sixth birthday. Kade could hardly remember anything from those years. His own child might not be able to remember him.

  Unless it was a girl. His daughter would remember him every single day, the same way he remembered his mother. His daughter would remember every single day that she was going to die young because of the genes she got from her father. She would grow up knowing the same things Kade knew now. His life would end in a slow and agonizing way before he was old enough for a midlife crisis.

  The worst part was that having a kid meant the chance of passing on the gene of an untimely death to a person you were supposed to protect no matter what. If he had a daughter, she would have a 50 percent chance of giving the disease to her own offspring. And there was no way to test for the gene markers—those kids would have to live in complete uncertainty until they showed signs or broke fifty.

  As much as he had resented his father at times for having him tested, at least Kade knew. When his life had been derailed, at least he had not been an adult, entrenched in a life with a wife, one-point-seven children, a white picket fence, and matching minivans. He’d found out young enough that he would not have time to do anything of merit in his life, and he therefore decided he would not be sad to see it go.

  Had it not been for the Primal Age, all of that would have been going according to plan just fine. Now he did have a life that felt meaningful. He had a woman he loved. And she was pregnant. He wanted to feel ecstatic, but the dread was overwhelming.

  “No!” Yuzuki said.

  Kade’s attention turned to Jem, who had dug out the bottle of vodka, unscrewed the cap, and was about to take it to his mouth. Kade lunged and snatched the bottle from him.

  “Not yet,” Kade said.

  “Sorry.” Jem drooped his head to his chest like a child.

  Kade rummaged in the bag and retrieved a bottle of water for Jem and Mick.

  “Slowly,” Kade said.

  While he watched them nurse the bottle of water, Kade realized he couldn’t even take care of these two, let alone a kid.

  “You brought vodka?” Yuzuki asked.

  Kade shrugged. “The whiskey was gone.”

  They had floated out of the channel and were picking up speed on the Potomac River. To the south, Kade could just make out a highway crossing the river.

  Yuzuki held her hand out, and Kade passed her the glass bottle. Kade assumed she wanted to toss it overboard, but she took the bottle to her lips and swallowed a shot.

  “Never thought I’d be excited to see cheap vodka,” she said.

  She passed the bottle back to Kade, and he allowed himself one shot so she wasn’t drinking alone.

  “Not that I don’t want to play Huck Finn, but we are floating the opposite direction of where I need to go,” Kade said, capping the lid.

  Yuzuki pointed at the bridge they were floating toward. “That’s Route 95. We should be able to navigate to hit one of the sup
ports or make it to the bank. We’ll get out there and cross into Alexandria.”

  “We just wait?”

  “Get some food in your boys. They should be coming around soon. It usually takes about a day for the drug-and-starvation combo to run its course,” Yuzuki said.

  Kade opened the garbage bag and retrieved a box of croutons for Jem and Mick.

  * * *

  Alpha led the pack across a road to a residential area. They were trying to scope out a future winter home and were exploring areas farther away from their usual hunting grounds. Alpha had six pack members with him, including Pepper, but so far there had been no signs of either others or those like him.

  They had broken through a weak door to a basement and were exploring when they heard the sound an other’s machines. At the noise, the pack scattered for the stairs, taking off like a herd of deer spooked by a predator.

  Alpha was halfway across the road when the foamer in front of him was plowed by a large pickup with a raised snowplow on the front. His pack member’s body flew down the road, bouncing with bone-breaking impacts. The pickup continued forward, running the damaged foamer over, then skidded to a stop.

  All the doors opened, and four others climbed out. One had a rifle, a second carried a baseball bat, the third a pistol, and the fourth a large metal rod with a sharpened end. Alpha let out a low roar calling for his pack to flee, not fight.

  The boom sticks cracked, and another of his pack fell. Alpha picked up his pace, crossed the road, and made it into the trees. Pepper and another of his were by his side, but another crack of gunfire dropped the two foamers that hadn’t made the tree line.

  Alpha spun back toward the road. His pack members were still alive, but hurt. They struggled toward the trees, crawling on weak limbs, fighting for each step.

  The four others closed in on his wounded pack, who were crying out in pain. The others answered with laughter and boots to his brethren. Alpha started toward the others, but Pepper put herself broadside in front of him and rammed her forehead into his chest. When Alpha didn’t budge, she nudged him again.

  Finally, Alpha gave up. Turning to leave, he saw a bat descend on the back of one of the wounded, causing him to howl in pain. More laughter from the others. Then silence from his kind as the metal shaft went through his packmate’s head.

  Alpha fled into the trees, unable to watch the monsters anymore, feeling a pain in his gut like he was going to lose the contents of his stomach.

  Chapter IX

  Grocery Run

  John drove in silence as Ashton guided him north in the black pickup truck that Ashton considered hers. They were traveling slowly, as it was the first time either of them had left the campus grounds since they’d arrived at Houghton College. X had left a detailed map that marked the safest path, but even still, they wanted to be careful.

  “Stray, don’t mistake this for caring, but who shot your dog?” Ashton said.

  “I did,” John said, as a small one-street town appeared in the distance.

  “That was stupid,” Ashton said, turning her attention back to the map.

  She was the last person in the world, not just Houghton, he wanted to talk to about his personal issues. He couldn’t wait for Kade to get back so his pseudofather could help him make everything right again—especially as he was beginning to doubt Kade’s leadership and wished to see him do good again. Ashton didn’t need any more ammo to pick on him.

  “Kind of exciting, being off the reservation,” Ashton said.

  “Are you attempting small talk?” John asked.

  “What crawled up your ass and died, Stray?”

  John let out a long sigh.

  Ashton backhanded him in the chest. He glared at her, but the cold stare she gave in response was far more intimidating.

  “We all live in this same shit storm. Nothing is perfect for any of us, so if you want to act like you’re on outcast island by yourself where no one understands, go for it. But like it or not, we’re all struggling, and it is better to struggle together than alone,” Ashton said.

  Perhaps this was Ashton’s version of caring, he thought.

  “Make a right,” Ashton said, then added, “Stray.”

  He turned the truck down the main road, and they kept their eyes peeled for the pet store. When he pulled into the deserted parking lot, Ashton maneuvered the rearview mirror and swore under her breath. She cast the door open, and John tried to match her haste, not sure what had propelled her.

  “Franklin, get down here right now,” Ashton said.

  From under a blue tarp in the bed of the truck Franklin climbed down, with Bristle tucked into his jacket.

  Ashton turned the kid around and smacked his behind. Franklin jumped forward as Bristle let out a hiss.

  “I told you to lock yourself in my room until I got back,” Ashton yelled.

  “I felt I’d be safer coming with you. Besides, I want to make sure you get food Bristle will eat,” Franklin said.

  “Goddamn it, kid. I can pick out cat food,” Ashton replied.

  “She’s a king cheetah,” Franklin retorted.

  “Wouldn’t that make her a queen?” John said, surprising himself.

  Franklin and Ashton both shot him a stilted look, but both showed traces of a smile.

  “Stay close,” Ashton ordered, retrieving her hunting rifle from the truck.

  John grabbed his bow as they made their way to the entrance of the pet shop. They paused when they came to the formerly sliding doors that were now hanging wide open. Ashton pulled out the map one last time before they stepped inside.

  When they had been driving, they’d felt like prisoners who had been given a taste of freedom. Crossing the threshold into the dark interior of the pet store was more like walking into a horror movie.

  Bristle leapt out of Franklin’s shirt and slinked into the darkness.

  “Go get your cat,” Ashton said.

  “She’s a king cheetah,” Franklin said as he ran after her.

  “Where’s your flashlight?” Ashton asked.

  John checked all of his pockets, but in his rush to leave he hadn’t been thinking clearly and forgot to snag his usual equipment.

  “You’re a horrible Boy Scout,” Ashton said.

  “Eagle Scout,” John corrected.

  “No wonder you can’t get a girl.”

  John tried to fight his growing smile, but it only made him feel more clown-like.

  Ashton’s eyes went wide when she saw his smile. “No. Grace didn’t?”

  Turning away to hide his smile, John found himself looking at aquariums full of dead reptiles and rodents. With the exception of the one labeled rats—the lid had been slid open enough for a rodent to squeeze through.

  “You care about Franklin,” John said, trying to change the subject.

  “It wasn’t Grace. The Brit chick?”

  “Kade always calls me kid, the same way you call Franklin kid.”

  “I won’t lie, I am a little impressed.”

  “I never thought you’d actually care about the kids.”

  “I’ll have to side with Grace in the divorce.”

  “I can’t believe you spanked him.”

  “Did she spank you?”

  “You can’t—think—words—darn it,” John said scrambling for any response.

  Ashton hoisted her rifle overhead like a championship trophy. “Winner!”

  “Can we just find the food and get moving?” John said.

  “Why? Got a date?” Ashton said, smirking.

  John shook his head. “I’d like to try to make things right with Grace.”

  Ashton led John down an aisle of cat food. “If anything, you forced her to act. I love her to death, but she couldn’t expect you to just wait on the sidelines forever.”

  “Why don’t we talk more often?” John asked, feeling the same level of peace he felt talking with Kade.

  “Because you’re a pansy,” Ashton replied.

  Well, that se
ttled that. He thought about mounting a defense, but any response he could come up with would only further justify her case. Instead, he looked over the rows upon rows of food for cats. There was dry food, and wet food, and kind-of-dry food, and gourmet food that was supposed to taste like real chicken—the variety went on and on.

  “Franklin,” Ashton called, as a shadow passed across the entrance.

  John grabbed Ashton and pulled her down behind the shelves. He kept his eyes on the entrance.

  “What the hell are you doing, Stray?” Ashton said, tearing her arm away from him.

  “I thought I saw something move,” John said. He could have sworn it was a person that crossed the threshold.

  “It was probably just Franklin,” she replied.

  John stuffed his pockets full of cat food cans. If they had to leave in a hurry, he didn’t want to have to come back. He had been trying to keep his ear turned toward Franklin, and John didn’t think the boy was anywhere near the entrance.

  “Let’s quietly find the kid,” John murmured.

  “I think you just got spooked by a shadow,” Ashton said, but he noticed she didn’t stand back up.

  “If it turns out to be nothing, you can make fun of me. You might want to grab a bag of food, just in case,” John said as he nocked an arrow and moved to the end of the row.

  The building had a square layout with a circle of aquariums in the center. It was possible that, if someone came through the main entrance, they could circle around the fish tanks and sneak out behind them. But before they moved, John needed to find the kid and determine if they were in danger. The only issue was he thought Franklin was on the other side of the entrance. John led Ashton to the edge of the tiled floor that served as the main avenue of the store. To cross over would expose them to the entrance. Ashton could be right—he might just be spooked.

  Then they heard a pair of voices.

  “I’m telling you that truck wasn’t here last month,” a female voice said.

  “Why would someone stop at a pet store?” a man said as the two came through the entrance.

  With the daylight behind them, John couldn’t make out much other than that they were both tall and carrying weapons. Based on how they carried their weapons, John assumed the woman had a rifle and the man had a baseball bat.